The history of rock music is a rich and complex thing. Even the origins of the rock genre are not entirely clear-cut, and the number of sub-genres (and sub-genres of sub-genres) that have developed since the 1950s “Rock and Roll” era deserve a whole series of encyclopedias.

One uncontested fact is that rock and roll evolved in the late 1940s in America, and that it has roots in blues, gospel music, country music, and African American culture. The genre seems to have developed as a result of white and black communities living in closer proximity to each other, which meant they were hearing each others music. This sparked the fermentation period of rock and roll, as it drew influences from older American genres of music to form a new, original, and immediate musical expression for the America of the 1950s.

Some of the first rock and roll records include Bill Haley’s “Rock Around The Clock” in 1954, and Elvis’ “That’s All Right (Mama)” the same year. And while the piano was the central and most important instrument in early rock songs, with the invention of the electric guitar and amplifier, the guitar soon became the most essential instrument for rock bands. Guitarists such as Chuck Berry, Link Wray, and Scotty Moore were especially important early rock and roll guitarists who developed the rock guitar style.

The rock and roll genre hit Britain hard in the late 50s and early 60s, which resulted in the formation of important British bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, who both broke into the American mainstream soon afterwards.

The arrival of Beatlemania in turn influenced what is often called the “Golden Age of Rock Music”, as important pop, folk, psychedelic, and glam rock bands emerged during the mid-60s to mid-70s.  Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and David Bowie all changed the face of rock music forever. During this period, rock music was becoming more and more varied, and rock genres continued to develop into more complex and intense forms of music. Most importantly, there was a continued focus on playing the electric guitar in innovative and exciting ways.

During the 1970s, bands like Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin continued to create increasingly aggressive and guitar-focused music with the development of hard rock and heavy metal. These types of rock bands started to sell out the largest venues, which lead to the coining of the term “Arena Rock”.

Punk rock hit in the mid- to late-70s with bands such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash, while the 80s brought us more heavy metal bands (such as Iron Maiden and Motorhead), glam metal acts (Motley Crue, Queen), and alternative rock (REM, The Smiths, The Cure).

Grunge was perhaps the most significant development of 90s rock, with bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden topping the charts. Later in the decade genre-mixing bands such as Green Day and The Offspring (pop-punk), Silverchair and Bush (post-grunge), and Rage Against the Machine and Korn (nu-metal/rap-rock) developed the rock genre in their own unique ways.

The 2000s have seen the revival of rock genres such as garage rock (The White Stripes, The Vines), post-punk (The Killers, Franz Ferdinand), and the development of metal genres with bands such as Trivium and Wolfmother.

The future of rock music will likely see many more genre revivals and genre-mixing, but we can only hope that rock bands of the future can equal the creative genius of earlier rock acts such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and other original groups which changed the course of rock music forever.

- Axel